Sander pipe support



Patented Dec. 15, 1942 2,304,878 SANDER PIPE SUPPORT Martin P. Blomberg, Hinsdale, Ill., assigner to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Original application October 6, 1939, Serial No.

298,197. Divided and this application January 2, 1941, Serial No. 372,803 l 8 Claims. (Cl. 291-41) '.Ihis application is a division of my co-pending application, Serial No. 298,197, led October 6, 1939.

' 'I'he invention relates to sander devices for railway vehicles, and has to do more particularly with the supporting and securing of the sander pipe nozzle through which sand may be discharged onto the track adjacent the wheels when the brakes are being applied.

Since it is important that thedischarge end of the sander pipe nozzle be located as close as' possible to the wheel and to the track in order to be most effective, it has been found unsatisfactory to support it on some part of the brake rigging or other portion of the vehicle which changes its angular position with respect to the part of the brake rigging, which support is so devised that it will retain the nozzle in the same angular relationship to and at substantially the same distance from the wheel and the track at all times, regardless of whether the brakes are applied or not, or whether the brake shoes are L new cr are worn so that the rigging must be adjusted to take care of such wear. This is aecomplished by supporting the nozzle on the slack adjuster nut, which part in the type of brake rigging shown in said application Ser. No. 298,197, does not change its angular position relative to the wheels or track when the brakes are applied or adjusted.

The above and other objects of the invention will be more readily understood by referring to the specication and accompanying drawing, in which: l

Fig. l is a side elevational view of one end of a railway car truck, showing my improved sander pipe support associated with the brake rigging.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the parts on a somewhat larger scale. Fig. 3 is a sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4.is a sectional view, taken on the linel 4-4 of Fig. 3. 1

The reference numeral 9 designates the platform or body of a railway car to which the truck frame I0 is pivotally connected in the usual manx .v

ner by a center plate and king pin connection which is not shown. Axle l2 on which wheels I4 are mounted is journalled in the usual manner in journal boxes I8, and I8 is an equalizer bar, the ends of which rest on top of the journal boxes. The brake rigging shown is of the clasp type, and consists of brake shoes 20 and 22 adapted to beforced against opposite sides of the wheels, the shoes being carried upon brake heads 24 and 26. The brake head 24 is pivotally mounted upon a live truck lever` 28 at the point 30, and is supported by a pair of hangers 32 which are pivotally secured to the truck frame at 34, while the brake head 26 is pivotally connected at 36 to a dead truck lever 38 which is pivotally supported from the truck frame'at 40.

' The lower ends of the levers 28 and 3B are connected together by a pair of tension rods 42 and 44 which extend on opposite sides of the wheel,y the right hand ends of the tension rods being connected to the bottom of the lever 28 by a bolt 46 which passes through holes formed in the lever and in the tension rods. The opposite ends of the tension rods are connected together and held in proper spaced relation to each other by a member 50 having trunnion portions 52 formed on it, which trunnionportions extend through holes provided in the ends of the tension rods, the latter being drawn againstv shoulders 54 on the member 5l) by nuts 56 which are threadedv onto the ends of the trunnion portions.

Formed on the member 5l] is a sleeve portion 5B, which as shown in Fig. 3, is open at its right hand end, the opposite end 6l] being closed except for a hole 62 formed therethrough.r Rotatably supported in this hole is the shankv 84 of -a screw 68, there being a-heXagon-shaped head member 68 secured -to the shank by a pin l0, this head member being adapted to bear against the end 68 of the sleeve to prevent axial movement of the screw relative to the sleeve in theone direction, while a ange 12 formed on the screw engages the inside surface of the end' to prevent axial movement of the screw in the opposite direction.

The lower end of the lever 38 is formed in the shape of a yoke having legs 82 and 86 'which t between the tension rods 42' and 44, there being a tubular-shaped extension 89 formed on the leg 84 to make the yoke as wide as the space between the tension rods. Located between the legs of the yoke is the end 88 of a slack adjuster nut 80, there being a threaded portion 92 at the opposite end of thevnut into which the screw is. threaded. The end 88 of the slack `adjuster nut is held infplace between the legs of the yokeV on the lever 38 by a bolt 94 which passes through slots 96 formed in the tension rods, through holes formed in the legs of the yoke and through a hole formed in the end 88 of the slack adjuster nut, there being suitable bushings of anti-friction material provided in these holes at the points where the bolt bears to reduce friction at these points,

Located between the head of the bolt 94 and the tension rod 42 is a washer 98 having a projection which extends into the slot 96 in the rod, the projection having flat sides which are adapted to bear against the edges of the slots for sliding engagement therewith, the width of the projection between the flat sides being slightly less than the width of the slot, this construction being shown and more fully described in said application Ser. No, 298,197. A similarly'shaped washer |04 ts in sliding engagement in the slotV in the tension rod 44, being held in that position` by a compression spring |96 located between that'washer and a nut |98 threaded onto theV end of the bolt 94, the spring serving to keep the parts in tight enough engagement with each other to prevent rattling', while at the same time Vpermitting them to slide relative to each other. The central portion of the slack adjuster nut is sl'idablyv supported in a bushing H0 which is pressed 'into the open end of the sleeve 515.V

The slack adjuster is operated by turning the head member 68 by hand or by means of a 30 wrench, thus rotating the screw 5S, which causes the slack adjuster nut 99 to move axiallyin the 'sleeve 58. Since the bolt 94 extends through the end 88 of the slack adjuster nut, it isV caused to move in the slots 9E in the tension rods, and since the bolt passes through fthe openings in the legs 82 and 84 on the bottom of the brake lever 38, the latter is also caused to move, thereby changing the position of the brake shoe with respect` to the wheel.

Extending inwardly toward the wheel and downwardly at an angle from the end 88 of the slack adjuster nut is a projection I8 upon which is supported a sander pipe nozzle |20, to the when the brakes are applied or adjusted, and a upper end of which is connected a hose |22 which leads upwardly to a pipe |26 supported in any suitable manner, such as by straps |28, to the underside of the platform or body 9 of the cari 'I'he opposite end of the pipe |26 communicates 50;

with the sand box (not shown) which is located within the car body, there Vbeing the usual valves provided to control the flow of sand to the track when desired.

The sander pipe nozzle |29, which extends be- 55,

tween the legs 82 and 84 of the brake lever 38, is supported on the projection I8, being clamped against the latter by means of U-bolts |38 which extend through holes |24 formed in the projection, nuts |32 being threaded onto the ends of the U-bolts. Interposed between the U-bolts and l' to be directed into the pocket formed between l the iiange and tread of the wheel and the top of the track, which reduces the possibility of the sand being blown oif the track by side winds. A washer |38 is welded or otherwise secured to the nozzle a short distance above the lower end thereof for the purpose of preventing lwater which may run down the sand pipe from reaching the lower end of the nozzle where in cold weather it might freeze and stop the flow of sand therefrom.

One important advantage o supporting the sander pipe nozzle on the Vslack adjuster nut is that since thelatter moves in a horizontal plane and parallel to the track, the lower end of the nozzle does not change its angular position when the brakes are applied or adjusted to take care of wear and consequently always remains at substantially the same distance above the track, which would not be the case if it were supported on the brake leveror some other part of the brake rigging which changed its angular position when the brakes were applied or were adjusted to compensate for wear of the shoes.

Another advantage of supporting the Sander pipe nozzle on the slack adjuster nut is thatthis results in the securing means being located in a position where it will be easily accessible to permit adjustment of the position of the lower end cf the nozzle relative to the top of the track.

While a specic embodiment of vthe invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that various changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from lthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a device'of the class described, the combination of a brake rigging including a brake lever, a brake shoe supported by said lever, and a pair of tension rods, slack adjusting means connecting the lower end of said lever to said tension rods, said slack adjusting means being adapted to move axially in a horizontal plane sander pipe nozzle supported on said slack adjusting means below said brake shoe.Y

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a brake rigging including a brake lever, a brake shoe supported by said lever, and

a pair of tension rods, slack adjusting mechanism connecting the lower end of said lever to said plane when the brakes are applied or adjusted,

a sander pipe nozzle supported on said slack adjusting mechanism below said brake shoe, and

The function` of the curved member |34 is to distribute the clamping pressure of the U-bolts over a substantial area of the nozzle to aovid attening or otherwise deforming it which might result if the clamping action of the U- bolts were applied directly to the nozzle. Y

The lower. end of the nozzle |20 is bent so that it extends toward the flange of the wheel, to cause the sandl which is discharged therefrom means adapted to secure said sander pipe to said slack adjusting mechanism.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a brake rigging including a brake lever, a brake shoe supported by said lever, and

a pair of tension rods, a slack adjuster nut connecting the lower end of said lever to said tension rods, said slack adjuster nut being adaptedY to.

lever, a brake shoe supported by said lever,v and` a pair of tension rods, a slack adjuster nut connecting the lower end of said lever to saidtension rods, said slack adjuster nut being adapted to move axially in a horizontal plane when the brakes are applied or adjusted, a sander pipe nozzle supported on said'slack adjuster nut below said brake shoe, and means adapted to secure said nozzle to said slack adjuster nut.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of a'brake rigging including a brake lever, a brake shoe supported by said lever, and a pair of tension rods, a slack adjuster nut connecting the lower end of said lever to said tension rods, said slack adjuster nut being adapted to move axially in a horizontal plane when the brakes are applied or adjusted and a sander pipe nozzle supported below said brake shoe on said slack adjuster nut in order that the lower end of said nozzle will remain at a constant'distance above the track when the brakes are being applied or adjusted.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a brake rigging including a brake lever, a brake shoe supported by said lever, and a pair of tension rods, slack adjusting mechanism adjustably connecting the lower end of said lever to said tension rods, said slack adjusting mechanism being adapted to move axially in a horizontal plane when the brakes are applied or adjusted, said slack adjusting mechanism having a projection formed thereon below said brake shoe,

and a sander pipe nozzle supported on said projection.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a brake rigging including a kbrake lever, a brake shoe supported by said lever, and a pair of tension rods, a slack adjuster nut adjustably connecting the lower end of said lever to said tension rods, said slack adjuster nut being adapted to move axially in a horizontal plane when the brakes are applied or adjusted, said nut having a projection formed thereon below said brake shoe, a sander pipe nozzle supported on said projection, and means adapted to secure said nozzle to said projection.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a truck frame, a brake lever supported from said frame, a brake shoe supported by said lever, said lever having a pair of legs at itslower end and a slack adjuster nut located betweenv and pivotally connected to said legs, said slack adjuster nut being adapted to move axially in a horizontal plane when the brakes are applied or adjusted, a projection formed on said nut, a pair of tension rods adjustably connected to the lower end of said lever by said nut, a sander pipe nozzle extending between the legsl of said brake lever and supported on said projection, and means adapted to secure said nozzle to said projection.

MARTIN P. BLOMBERG. 

